Always
by TheLastYamanaka
Summary: "You're all I have left." Post-war oneshot.


**AN: For those of you who find this familiar, it is a re-upload from my other account which I no longer use. Just what I personally want to happen between these two amazing characters after the war, which never will, so you get it in fanfiction instead. Hope you enjoy.**

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It is almost dark when he finds her.

All his life he has been called a genius, yet it has taken him hours to get to her the moment she needs him most. He would be lying if he said it was because he didn't know where to look. He knows her too well. Not because of his genius, but because they are so close. They have been through _everything_ together. He knows everything about her. So of course he has known the whole time that she would be here.

The truth is that _he_ doesn't want to be here. He wants to be at home, holed away in his room, alone, away from the world and the muffled sobs of his nagging mother. Here it is too painful. He wants to turn back but it will only cause him more pain if he walks away from her now; the one person he can't bear to hurt, standing broken and shivering in front of the mound.

Because that's all her father is now. A memory carved in a mound, decorated with flowers. Just like his father, and Neji, and their teacher. She is here because she has nothing left. He still has his mother but she has nothing, just an empty house of memories to remind her of all she has lost. If he walks away, she will be left out here all alone. She will remain standing by that gravestone until she is too tired, and then cry herself to sleep. And she will get sick from the cold night air.

He can't have that. He can't bear the thought of her doing that to herself. She is too important to him.

He has lied to himself for so long – it was just too troublesome to admit – but he can't do it anymore. All those times they have fought together, trained together, laughed together, watched the sky together, every moment he has been in her presence. He has searched the deepest corners of his mind and thought of every possible logical explanation as to how or when it had happened.

How and when he, Nara Shikamaru, had fallen in love with Yamanaka Ino.

He doesn't know if she feels the same, no amount of intelligence can tell him that unfortunately. The man who can plan two hundred moves in advance and process the way an enemy thinks in mere seconds. He is afraid of what he doesn't know because he is too used to picking up on things. So he can't tell her. It is so, so troublesome.

But he knows at least there is one thing he can do. He can be there for her, like always. For a lazy but serious genius, it is the only thing he can do. Because it is right.

The sound of kunai hitting wood brings his senses to present and he instinctively panics for a moment. Every sound now sets him off, one of the scars war left imprinted on them all. Of course he is not under attack, but finds himself even more shocked to see her reaching into her weapon holster for another round of kunai. She throws them violently at the nearest tree and sadness consumes him at the sight of anger and tears staining the graceful features of her face.

When she realizes her holster is empty, she lets out a frustrated scream and kicks the flowers she and Sakura had laid out this morning after the burial. He watches in shock as they scatter in a disarray and fall to the ground. He has never seen her act like this and it worries him, so he does the first thing that comes to mind.

It takes her a moment to realise that her body is paralysed and anger rises as she becomes aware of her teammate's presence.

"Let me go, Shikamaru!" she shouts, her voice course from lack of speech, but firm none-the-less.

He ignores the command and forces her to turn around to face him.

His mastery of the jutsu frustrates her. She doesn't want to look at him. She doesn't want him to see her like this. Her gaze fixes on the ground between them where his shadow stretches and connects to her own. At least he has allowed her the freedom of sight.

"I said, let me go!" she yells again, her frustration stronger this time.

"I'm sorry but I can't do that," he replies softly.

He takes a step towards her and her body mimics the movement. They walk toward each other slowly and she closes her eyes tightly and clenches her teeth while he cautiously watches her expression.

"Stop," she says weakly, but he ignores her again and doesn't stop until they are standing directly in front of each other.

He can now smell the flowery scent of her perfume and see every detail on her tear stained face. He hates seeing her like this, but even with the dullness in her eyes and the wetness on her cheeks she still looks so beautiful. He disconnects their shadows and waits for her reaction, for her to turn away or hit him or yell at him. But she doesn't move.

She doesn't know what she is feeling anymore, it is all just a big confusion. Her body still won't respond to what she is thinking. She herself _doesn't know_ what she is thinking but she is just so sad and so angry and so tired and so cold. And she can't take it anymore.

Her shaking legs give way and she falls, and his warm arms catch her. He pulls her against him and she finally allows herself to break, grabbing onto him tightly and burying her face in his vest.

They don't know how long they stay like that, but neither wants to let go. She cries until she forgets her frustration and the heaviness in her chest, and there is only grief left. He doesn't say a word, fighting to keep his own tears at bay. He needs to be strong for her now.

He pulls her closer and holds her in a consoling silence. She has always been the one best with words after all. It frustrates him to think there isn't anything more he can do, but unfortunately life is never that easy. And as shinobi, the easier, joyful parts of life never seem to reach them.

He enviously looks up at the grey clouds in the darkening sky. Death is peaceful. Life is hard. At least their fathers are at peace, away from the bitter suffering of the world.

"Shikamaru... Don't leave me."

The pain in her voice breaks him and he pulls back to look at her but she tenses, tightening her hold and making his heart beat faster. The same way it does when her mind transfer fails or she takes a blow during a fight. The warm feeling he'd kept buried deep all these years finally surfaces.

"I'm here, I'm not going anywhere," he says gently.

"I mean never… Don't ever…please…"

He finds himself nodding and she relaxes a little as he gives her a small squeeze in response.

"Will you promise?"

He stares at the ground over her shoulder. It is an unfair tie to make. He is not like Naruto or Lee, he can't say simple words like they do and make the impossible come true. He is a rational guy who would never make a promise he couldn't keep. Not to her, not to anyone. The world may have finally reached an era of peace but the fact remains that they are still ninja. A day will come when the nations destabilize for a new war to break out and they'll again live their lives in the face of constant risk.

He inwardly curses himself. He already is thinking too deeply. So troublesome.

But she knows. She knows her request is childish and she knows what he is thinking. But she needs him. "You're… you're all I have left. I can't… I just _can't_ lose you."

She finally loosens her hold and pulls back to look up at him. He forces himself to return the gaze and puts aside the fear of looking in her eyes bringing out his weakness. But he then notices determination masking the wetness in them, and for the first time in his life the lazy genius casts away every logical thought. "I promise."

The night grows hot when he realizes how close they are standing. And she looks so, so beautiful. His head clouds with too many thoughts at once and his mind instinctively runs back to the logic of how he'd gotten here. When did they get so close?

In a blur of thoughts he remembers how he'd reeled her shadow in with his jutsu. She'd yelled at him, then he'd hugged her and he'd let her cry in his arms and then she'd said those words and his brain had stopped working properly and he'd made that irrational promise and- screw this, he is thinking too much again. Why is he making it so tr-

His disarray of thoughts is broken by soft lips meeting his own. And before he realizes it, he is pulling her closer to him once again, kissing her back. He shivers slightly under the icy touch on his cheeks. Her hands are so cold, she really has been out here for hours. But the coldness doesn't make him flinch. He closes his eyes under her touch and wraps his arms around her waist. He feels her wet lips smile against his own.

A few minutes ago – no, ever since the juubi's blow had taken down headquarters – he'd been haunted by the thought of never seeing her beautiful smile again. And here they are now, standing in the cold cemetery smiling and kissing and realizing that this was the moment they'd both unconsciously dreamed of for years.

They pull away hesitantly, allowing their momentary escape from the grief to fade. The grief that would stay with them forever. He now wonders why he even questioned her request. He needs her too, just as much as she needs him. Like her mind transfer needs his shadow possession for a perfect execution of technique, they need each other.

"I promise I won't ever leave you, Ino. If I can make any promise then it would be that. I'll always be here." He wipes a fresh tear from her cheek, and they both blush slightly at the action.

She watches the seriousness in his expression and the corners of her mouth twitch into a small smile. In all the time she's known him he's been serious after all. A serious and lazy genius who would never say or do anything unless he knew it was right. "Always?"

"Always."

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**Thanks for reading. Leave a review if you like. 'Til next time, then...**


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